[Giant papillomas of the tongue and pharynx in focal dermal hypoplasia: a case report].

Focal dermal hypoplasia is a rare congenital syndrome with dominant X-linked mode of inheritance characterized by a wide range of meso-ectodermal anomalies. The clinical variation is great, as explained by the Lyon hypothesis and mosaicism. Findings include skin atrophy along the lines of Blaschko and papillomas.

Melanocytic schwannoma of the cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues: three cases and a review of the literature.

Melanocytic schwannoma is a rare soft-tissue tumor, which arises most commonly in the paraspinal sympathetic chain. In general, 25% of the patients develop metastasis. To date, only 17 cases of a cutaneous and subcutaneous melanocytic schwannoma have been reported.

Effective photodynamic therapy of actinic keratoses on the head and face with a novel, self-adhesive 5-aminolaevulinic acid patch.

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is increasingly used for the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK).

Objectives: To investigate both the efficacy of different application times and the safety of a novel patch (PD P 506 A) containing aminolaevulinic acid in the PDT of mild to moderate AK.

Methods: Applications of PD P 506 A for 0.

Targeted combined anti-inflammatory and angiostatic therapy in advanced melanoma: a randomized phase II trial.

An angiostatic approach was used to assess the impact of anti-inflammatory therapy in combination with metronomic low-dose chemotherapy. A randomized multi-institutional phase II trial was designed to select metronomic chemotherapy (arm A: trofosfamide 50 mg orally three times daily, day 1+) or combined anti-inflammatory/angiostatic treatment (arm B: trofosfamide as above mentioned plus rofecoxib 25 mg orally, day 1+, and pioglitazone 60 mg orally, day 1+) for further evaluation. A total of 76 patients, mostly (>60%) refractory to at least one previous chemotherapy with maximum tolerated doses, and progression of metastatic melanoma were included.

Simulating psoriasis by altering transit amplifying cells.

Computational models of tissue homeostasis will facilitate a deeper understanding of many diseases. They link molecular networks, cellular differentiation and the spatial and temporal organization of tissues. Here we show an approach which is able to computationally turn a healthy in silico epidermis into one with four central properties of psoriatic epidermis.

Modelling epidermal homeostasis as an approach for clinical bioinformatics.

Modelling in systems biology currently lacks clinical applications. As a possible approach leading to clinical relevance the modelling of tissue homeostasis is proposed. As an example a model of epidermal homeostasis is presented which reproduces central morphological and kinetic characteristics of epidermal tissue.

Autoantibodies against CD28 are associated with atopic diseases.

The B7-1/B7-2-CD28/CTLA-4 pathway is crucial in regulating T cell activation and tolerance. Autoantibodies to surface molecules on lymphocytes have already been described in various immune conditions, such as autoimmune diseases, infections and blood transfusions. The objective of this study was to test sera from healthy individuals and from patients for association of CD28 autoantibodies with inflammatory and non-inflammatory diseases.

In vitro drug sensitivity predicts response and survival after individualized sensitivity-directed chemotherapy in metastatic melanoma: a multicenter phase II trial of the Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group.

Purpose: In vitro sensitivity assays are promising tools to predict the individual outcome of different chemotherapy regimens. However, a direct association between in vitro and in vivo chemosensitivity has to be shown by clinical studies. This multicenter phase II trial was aimed to investigate the efficacy of a sensitivity-directed, first-line chemotherapy in metastasized melanoma patients, and to prove an association between in vitro sensitivity and therapy outcome.

Expression of Fas ligand (CD95L) in primary malignant melanoma and melanoma metastases is associated with overall survival.

Background: There is increasing evidence that the Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) system is involved in tumor-mediated immune suppression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Fas (CD95) as well as FasL (CD95L) expression in primary malignant melanoma and melanoma metastases on overall survival (OS).

Patients And Methods: 19 patients with metastatic malignant melanoma who were treated with different dacarbazine (DTIC)-based chemotherapy regimens were included in this study.

Age-associated decrease of CD1d protein production in normal human skin.

Background: CD1d belongs to a family of antigen-presenting molecules structurally related to the classical major histocompatibility complex class I proteins.

Objectives: To examine the expression pattern of CD1d protein in normal human skin with ageing.

Methods: Twenty normal human skin biopsy specimens were obtained from 20 healthy individuals.

[The new German educational law for medical schools: the Hamburg concept in dermatology and venereology].

Medical school graduates are required to deal with complex situations in their future work which require profound theoretical knowledge as well as many practical skills. The University of Hamburg used a new educational law (AappO 2002) as catalyst to define learning objectives relevant for practice and to guarantee a close connection between theory and practice. A newly founded curriculum committee with twelve members developed a strategy and structure for the new clinical curriculum (KliniCuM) in weekly sessions.

[Is a reformation of the medical training worthwhile? The quality of the Hamburg curriculum under the old and the new board certification law].

This paper presents the results of the evaluation of a new undergraduate curriculum at the Medical Faculty of Hamburg University. This curriculum is based on the new law on medical board certification of 2002, and was tested for the first time in the summer term of 2004. The results were compared with those obtained under the previous law.

A multicellular systems biology model predicts epidermal morphology, kinetics and Ca2+ flow.

Motivation: Systems biology is currently focused on integrating intracellular networks, although clinically, diseases are largely defined by their histological features. For example, no computational model can simulate today the formation of a horizontally layered epidermis. Since the epidermis is the most complex structured epithelial tissue, systems biology models could yield important insights in epithelial tissue, in which most of all human cancers arise.

Total and specific serum IgE decreases with age in patients with allergic rhinitis, asthma and insect allergy but not in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Concerning allergic diseases, the incidence of allergic symptoms, as well as their severity, seems to decrease with age. The decline of onset of allergic symptoms observed in ageing might result from a decrease of serum total and specific IgE. Atopic disorders are complex diseases that involve interactions among several physiological systems, e.

Comparison of standard phenotypic assays with a PCR method to discriminate Candida albicans and C. dubliniensis.

In 1995, Candida dubliniensis was described as a new species in the genus Candida. Its close relationship to C. albicans has proved problematic in the identification of C.

Fotemustine compared with dacarbazine in patients with disseminated malignant melanoma: a phase III study.

Purpose: To compare fotemustine and dacarbazine (DTIC) in terms of overall response rate (ORR) as primary end-point and overall survival, duration of responses, time to progression, time to occurrence of brain metastases (BM), and to assess safety and quality of life in patients with disseminated cutaneous melanoma.

Patients And Methods: Patients received either intravenous fotemustine 100 mg/m2 weekly for 3 weeks or DTIC 250 mg/m2/d for 5 consecutive days every 4 weeks (two cycles). Nonprogressive patients received a maintenance treatment every 4 weeks (fotemustine 100 mg/m2 or DTIC 250 mg/m2 for 5 days).

Expression analysis of the Candida albicans lipase gene family during experimental infections and in patient samples.

Secreted lipases of Candida albicans are encoded by a gene family with at least 10 members (LIP1-LIP10). The expression pattern of this multigene family was investigated using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in experimental infections and in samples of patients suffering from oral candidosis. The findings illustrate that individual lipase genes are differentially regulated in a mouse model of systemic candidosis with some members showing sustained expression and others being transiently expressed or even silent.

Treosulfan and gemcitabine in metastatic uveal melanoma patients: results of a multicenter feasibility study.

No effective treatment currently exists for metastatic uveal melanoma. However, recent results obtained by an ATP-based tumor chemosensitivity assay have shown consistent activity of treosulfan+gemcitabine in up to 80% of tumor specimens tested. In this study we describe the first clinical results observed with this drug combination at different European centers in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.

Telomere length measurement and determination of immunosenescence-related markers (CD28, CD45RO, CD45RA, interferon-gamma and interleukin-4) in skin-homing T cells expressing the cutaneous lymphocyte antigen: indication of a non-ageing T-cell subset.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the immunosenescence of skin-homing T cells expressing the cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA). Peripheral blood lymphocytes from 72 healthy individuals (33 male and 39 female; median age 54 years; age-range: 18-94 years) were investigated. The expression of CD28, CD45RA and CD45RO, as well as intracellular interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) formation of CLA+ 'skin homing' T cells, was analysed.

Second-line chemotherapy of metastatic malignant melanoma with intravenous treosulfan: a phase II multicentre trial.

The purpose of this multicentre phase II trial was to evaluate time to progression, survival time, rate of objective tumour response and toxicity of second-line intravenous treosulfan chemotherapy in stage IV melanoma patients. Thirty-one patients with measurable stage IV malignant melanoma and prior chemotherapy with a dacarbazine-containing regimen were included. Of this group, 26 patients were evaluable.

[Cutaneous malignant melanoma of the head and neck with intermediate tumor thickness: the role of elective lymph node dissection for clinical stage I].

Background: At present a tendency towards a more limited surgery in the treatment of clinical stage I and II melanoma exists. The controversy of elective lymph node dissections (ELND) in stage-I-melanoma with intermediate tumor thickness continues to be discussed. The sentinel lymph node biopsy may provide improved staging accuracy.

Treosulfan in the treatment of metastatic melanoma: from chemosensitivity testing to clinical trials.

The therapy of metastatic malignant melanoma is limited by poor responses and short overall survival. Thus it remains important to identify and test potential new drugs in this disease. To examine the effects of the bifunctional alkylating cytostatic treosulfan, an in vitro microplate ATP bioluminescence assay (ATP-TCA) was used.

[Complicated antiphospholid antibody syndrome].

History And Clinical Findings: A 51-year-old female patient suffered from recurrent ischemic strokes and venous thromboembolism although treated with ASS and phenprocoumon, which mainly occurred after diagnosis and treatment of an invasive-ductal mamma carcinoma. The severely ill patient presented with right-sided hemiparesis and dysarthria, a swollen leg, a painful necrotic-ulcerative lesion at the left-lateral ankle and a systolic heart murmur.

Investigations: Laboratory data revealed a haemoglobin of 8,4 g/dl, a leucocyte count of 3,1 x 10 (9)/l and a platelet count of 87 x 10 (9)/l.

Combination chemotherapy with or without s.c. IL-2 and IFN-alpha: results of a prospectively randomized trial of the Cooperative Advanced Malignant Melanoma Chemoimmunotherapy Group (ACIMM).

The purpose of this randomized trial was to evaluate the efficacy of combination chemoimmunotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone. A total of 124 patients were randomized to receive intravenous cisplatin (35 mg m(-2), days 1-3), carmustine (150 mg m(-2), day 1, cycles 1 and 3 only), dacarbacine (220 mg m(-2), days 1-3) and oral tamoxifen (20 mg m(-2), daily) in combination with (n=64) or without (n=60) sequential subcutaneous IL-2 and IFN-alpha. In those patients who received sequential immunotherapy, each cycle of chemotherapy was followed by outpatient s.